Want to know how we source the fantastic brands in your box? Brand Relationship Director Antony is in charge of unearthing the best niche and well-known products for you. He tells us how he does it – and what he needs from YOU:
My team and I pride ourselves on listening to you and finding out exactly what you’re looking for, so we can surprise and delight you month after month – it’s so exciting to bring you the latest most sought-after, classic and exclusive cosmetics and brands from around the world.
The brand relationship team’s process starts with a review of your Beauty Profiles, so it’s really important that you keep them up to date! We read all of your thoughtful comments, demographics and survey answers to help us target our favourite brands and bring you products that we know you’ll love to see in your Birchbox!
As you can imagine, we’re constantly reading and researching via websites and magazines, trawling global trade shows and meeting with brand owners to make sure we’re one step ahead of the beauty world so we can bring you those new and exciting products we know you’ll love.
The beauty (excuse the pun!) of Birchbox being a global brand is that we regularly speak to our US, French and Spanish teams, so we’re ahead of the trends and able to bring you the hottest and most exciting and effective products from around the world. It’s great ‘brag’ material – next time you’re chatting to a friend over a cocktail, tell her about the chia seeds you received in your July box! That came about as I was reading a feature on Miranda Kerr and her health regime – I immediately knew I had to bring them to you!
Each step of our complex process is done with you – our loyal subscribers – in mind. We meet with our favourite brands and keep them informed on the appetite for their products that you have. We know how busy you all are, so we get all the info for you. When you use your samples for the first time, we make sure you have everything you need for an informed, exciting and fun experience, with no need to leave your home.
Once we feel we have the right selection of products to fit your needs, we have lots of fun with our Editorial and Marketing teams, spending time trying out all the products and talking about them. But if we feel they’re not up to scratch and won’t work for you, they don’t go in the box!
At Birchbox, we’re driven by data, so it’s super important that you fill in your surveys after you’ve received a box and tried the products – you get rewarded with e-shop points too. Your survey answers ensure that we have the best information so that each product that we buy to stock in the e-shop, is chosen with a certain customer or group of customers in mind. We curate the edit so that you don’t have to trawl through the shops.
I love that you’re a vocal group of loyal customers, so please keep all your brilliant comments coming. Plus, if you’ve seen a product whilst on holiday or a friend has told you about an exciting new brand, drop me an email at brands@birchbox.co.uk and I’ll do the leg work for you. Who knows? It might just end up in your Birchbox!
– Ant